'It's tough' - Brown names not 'obvious' player to fill Man Utd spot vacated by Ronaldo

Wes Brown thinks Cody Gakpo is not the 'obvious' choice to replace Cristiano Ronaldo at Man Utd, but the PSV Eindhoven striker 'could easily fit in'.

The Red Devils' recruitment department are gearing up for a busy transfer window in January as they search for Ronaldo's successor.

Ronaldo caused drama last month when he criticized the club, Erik ten Hag and senior staff in an interview with Piers Morgan.

This led to a mutual agreement to terminate his contract at Man Utd, with both sides admitting his time at Old Trafford was up.

Many strikers have been linked with Man Utd since the announcement with links to Dutch international Gakpo, who scored three World Cup goals, probably the strongest.

And Brown believes the 'obvious players are all at the top clubs' and out of United's reach, with Ten Hag having to select a player like Gakpo at the lower tier.

"He's a big, strong boy, he's got big feet," Brown told The Metro. "It's tough, the obvious players are all at top clubs. But he's someone you can look at, he could easily fit into the manager's way of playing.

"There's a gap to fill and I'm pretty sure the manager will look at it. I just think January is tough. You can pick people up, but is that the guy you want? really? What you need to be careful about."

Man Utd will be looking for their wide players to contribute with more goals in the meantime and Brown backs transfer flop Jadon Sancho to start firing.

Brown added: "He was a bit like that last season, but at the end of the season I think he was one of our best players. He hasn't played for a while now and obviously you have Garnacho coming up so there's a lot of competition.

"Players go through phases and it's a good sign that the manager is involved in the situation and helps him. Football players are human too, it can be something on the pitch, something in outside, but finally the team is there.

"They will try to help in any way and the manager does that. I was young once, and you need that support around you, especially when things are tough, you're not playing well every game and it looks like he needs a pick-me-up.

"The way the wingers, Antony, Garnacho and Rashford have all played, Sancho may have had more game time but they are playing so well.

"He has to be at the same level or better and when you're not, you're not going to play as much. So the manager will do everything to refocus him. We all know he has the ability to do it."

READ MORE: Transfer gossip: Abraham eyes Prem side as Man Utd target Gakpo and Dutch team-mate